Electronic Word of Mouth

The emerging ‘customer engagement behaviour’ (CEB) literature predominantly discusses behaviours displayed by paying customers. However, the rise of free offerings, including free product trials, generates a need for re-examining the relevance of the existing paradigm based on paying customers. We propose the concept of ‘non-paying consumer engagement behaviours’ (CEBs) and outline how these may be leveraged to create value for the firm. We define non-paying CEBs as “a non-paying consumer’s motivationally-driven, positive behaviours toward a product, brand or firm, which are predicated on free offerings”. Using mixed methods and two field studies we develop a model of non-paying CEBs. Our investigations confirm that CEBs from previous studies are also applicable to non-paying consumers, but also identify additional CEBs. We examine the value created by non-paying CEBs for the firm, individuals as well as individual networks and indicate ways in which firms can capture value from non-paying consumers.  We make a substantive contribution to extant theory relating to CEBs and enhance the understanding of managerial practice.

Este livro é destinado a estudantes, pesquisadores, profissionais e demais interessados em comércio eletrônico (e-commerce), e faz um resgate histórico do surgimento das compras on-line, sua evolução no decorrer dos anos, além de explanar sobre as vantagens e as desvantagens de se utilizar as ferramentas e os recursos do ambiente virtual. Um dos principais objetivos do autor é apresentar como se relacionam alguns aspectos que, via de regra, estão presentes em tal ambiente, como a privacidade, a segurança, a qualidade das informações, a confiança, a propaganda boca a boca eletrônica e a intenção de recompra. Trata-se de uma leitura envolvente, ilustrada com diversas evidências empíricas nacionais e internacionais, complementada por uma ampla pesquisa realizada entre consumidores brasileiros que costumam realizar compras no formato on-line.

Word of mouth (WOM) is an extraordinary mechanism with which to spread information and disinformation. There is an interaction between WOM and eWOM, creating different channels for the dissemination of information. However, this information cannot be controlled by marketers; at least this is seldom the case. Positive and negative comments are found in eWOM and they have a powerful influence on credibility, trust and persuasiveness, where influencers play a main role. Brand reputation is shaped by the flow of information and disinformation on the Internet. Social networks are a real tool with which to create and place information. A comment may greatly benefit consumers, preventing uncertainty and boosting sales. eWOM disseminates both information and disinformation, and so internet users and marketers are faced with the problem of how to turn this to their own benefit.

Due to the widespread use of Social Media in Thailand, every company should develop their communications plan to be closer to their consumers via online interaction. Traveling Services in Thailand is one of the businesses that has to put emphasis on a360 degree feedback to immediately respond to the consumers' needs and wants anywhere and anytime. Traveling Services Providers can increase consumers' Purchase-Decision involvement by using Social Media as a means to create positive Electronic Word of Mouth which will consequently enhance Trust. This research has studied the factor that influence trust in using Traveling Services and Purchase-Decision involvement. The target population are people who live in Bangkok Metropolitan, Thailand who have experienced with Social Networks. In the data collection process, non-probability convenience and snowball sampling method have been applied by distributing only online based questionnaire survey to 390 respondents. To analyze the data in this study, Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) has been applied. Based on the result, Social Media Usage and Electronic Word of Mouth significantly influence Trust in using Traveling Services. Besides, Social Media Usage, Electronic Word of Mouth and Trust significantly influence Purchase-Decision involvement in using Traveling Services for Bangkokian.

This study focuses on the role of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in the processing information procedure. We are particularly interested in the influence of the exposure to eWOM on the Tunisian consumer’s attitude towards the product. A study was conducted on a sample of Tunisian Internet users. The relationship between exposure to eWOM and attitude towards the product was measured using a linear regression. The results show a small but significant relationship between exposure to eWOM and attitude toward the recommended product. The findings will help researchers and practitioners better understand the impact of electronic word-of-mouth on Tunisian consumer responses and will provide suggestions for Tunisian hospitality managers on how to make an effective marketing strategy taking the advantages of online word-of-mouth.

As of January 2020, global social media users have exceeded 3.8 billion, accounting for 49% of the world's total population. Internet and social media have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives worldwide. However, most previous research only focuses on social media marketing in other businesses, and there is less research about the development of boutique hotel social media marketing. This study investigates the relationship between different social media marketing practices and customers' purchase intention in Malaysia's boutique hotels. The article also explores how to properly conduct social media marketing to increase the customer purchase intention of boutique hotels and promote the boutique hotels' development in Malaysia. The non-probability random sampling technique 309 response was collected from Malaysian social media users using an online survey. Findings of the research found out that factors including marketing activities and eWOM significantly impact customer purchase intention of the boutique hotels in Malaysia through the mediating variable perceived usefulness and the mediating variable perceived trust. The study offers implications for the development of social media marketing in boutique hotels.

Using theories of sensegiving and sensemaking, I explore how people engage in word-of-mouth about stocks, which are conceptualized as epistemic objects. I draw on netnographic and interview data related to an online investment community, and find that people employ five broad types of word-of-mouth strategies – framing, cuing, connecting, action facilitating, and
unsettling – in giving sense about epistemic objects. I also identify the ways in which audiences respond to this form of word-of-mouth, as a part of a collective sensemaking process, and find that their responses pertain to the speaker, the account, as well as their own behavior. Finally, I develop propositions that describe the relationships between sensegiving word-of-mouth strategies and the responses they elicit. This research makes a number of conceptual contributions. It develops the concept of discursive response, an important component of networked word-of-mouth and a manifestation of engagement, and identifies the word-of-mouth strategies associated with higher volumes and types of discursive response. It generates knowledge about word-of-mouth processes.  It also provides learning about collective sensemaking and sensegiving. Along with these contributions, this research offers important insights for managers and public policy makers, such as how to elicit online engagement and assist in the collective sensemaking process.

Cette communication s’intéresse au bouche à oreille électronique (BAO électronique) dans le cadre du processus d’achat. Nous nous sommes intéressés en particulier à l’influence de l’exposition et de la consultation d’une communication de BAO électronique par l’internaute tunisien sur son intention d’achat. A cet effet, une étude a été menée sur 165 internautes qui ont été exposés à une communication de BAO électronique prenant la forme de commentaires d’internautes au sujet d’un hôtel. Les relations entre exposition au BAO électronique, attitude envers l’hôtel, et intention de visiter l’hôtel ont par la suite été mesurées en utilisant une corrélation linéaire. Les résultats montrent une relation faible mais significative entre l’exposition au BAO électronique et l’attitude envers le produit. De même une relation positive et significative entre l’attitude envers l’hôtel et l’intention de le visiter.

Consumers often base their choices to purchase experience goods like movies on online reviews. These reviews can be written by professional critics or by other consumers. However, little is known on the issue how the texts written by these two groups of reviewers differ. To answer this question, we conducted a genre analysis of online film reviews by analyzing and comparing the moves and strategies in online film reviews written by professional and consumer critics. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses show that these two groups of texts differ: Consumer critics mainly evaluate the movies and mostly write from a personal perspective. In contrast, reviews written by professional critics describe the movie instead of evaluating it. These results show that online reviews written by professional and consumer critics differ in terms of content which may have important implications for discourse on the Internet.

Abstract Business organizations have to pursue various forms to communicate with consumers, including using the Internet. This network has become the first choice for many consumers as a result of the rapid development of communication and information technologies. Also the importance of word of mouth in virtual communities interactions and its ability to form positive, or negative response, this study aimed to determine the level of consumer perceived usefulness and its impact on purchase intention, and test the moderator role of the electronically word of mouth in the relationship between the perceived usefulness of online purchasing and purchasing intention. By using the descriptive method, the data were collected  through questionnaire from a convenience non-probability sample consisting of (173) participants in the purchasing groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. The response rate was 100%. Hypotheses have been tested using regression, and other statistical tools were employed (standard deviations, mean,), results of the study showed that there is a positive relationship between the perceived benefit of online purchase on purchasing intention, Also found that the electronic word of mouth moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness of online purchasing and purchasing intention, Based on these results, theoretical and practical implications were presented.
Key words: perceived usefulness - electronic word of mouth- online purchasing groups - purchasing intention

This study tests hypotheses regarding differences in brand-related user-generated content (UGC) between Twitter (a microblogging site), Facebook (a social network) and YouTube (a content community). It tests them using data from a content analysis of 600 UGC posts for two retail-apparel brands
(Lululemon and American Apparel), which differ in the extent to which they manage social media proactively. Comparisons are drawn across six dimensions of UGC; the dimensions were drawn from a priori reading and an inductive analysis of brand-related UGC. This research provides a general framework for comparing brand-related UGC, and helps us to better understand how particular social media channels and marketing strategies
may influence consumer-produced brand communications.

Unrestricted access to the Internet, mobile devices, social applications and offering shopping comment options via online stores and platforms, encourages customers to generate online reviews about brands. That is why it became important to learn about the factors that motivate customers to create electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The survey aimed to check if there are links between perceived brand value, perceived risk, brand trust and consumers' willingness to express opinions online about products bought online. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to analyse the data from the study (340 respondents). Five of the six hypotheses were confirmed. The direct impact of perceived brand value on generating eWOM has not been established. Perceived product value has a more significant effect on brand trust than perceived risk. The adverse effect of perceived risk on the perceived brand value by consumers was also confirmed. It also turned out that trust in the brand has a more significant effect on the significance of  eWOM  than the perceived risk.

Public referral is a viral campaign strategy that takes advantage of the existence of networked culture in social media. The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge is an exemplary instance of a public referral–based campaign, the success of which can be partly attributed to the voluntary engagement of celebrity communities. This study views celebrities as social actors and explores the ways in which celebrities’ public referral networks grew during the Ice Bucket Challenge. Findings suggest that celebrities engaged in the campaign based on restrictive social networking rules. Also, the referral network grew through homophily, wherein sociodemographic similarities played an important role in celebrities’ referral decision making. This article contends that understanding whom people select to pass along the campaign message should be as important as understanding why people share the message.

Social media websites have created valuable opportunities for electronic word of mouth (eWOM) conversations. People are now able to discuss products and services of brands with their friends and acquaintances. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of these conversations in social media on consumers' purchase intentions. For this purpose, a conceptual model was developed based on the integration of Information Adoption Model (IAM) and related components of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). The new model, which is named as Information Acceptance Model (IACM), was validated through structural equation modelling (SEM) based on surveys of 384 university students who use social media websites. The results confirm that quality, credibility, usefulness and adoption of information, needs of information and attitude towards information are the key factors of eWOM in social media that influence consumers' purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as recommendations for further research.

Social media can be used at any time of the day and the easy accessibility of social media thanks to mobile devices offers marketers great opportunities to reach consumers using social media. The impact of social media on brand loyalty, E-WOM and intention to purchase is undoubtedly important. This study aims to investigate the effect of social media marketing on brand loyalty, electronic word of mouth communication and purchase intention, as well as the effect of brand loyalty and E-WOM on purchase intention. The sample of the study consists of 375 students from Yüzüncü Yıl University, following product or service brands on social media. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the obtained data. In the study, it was concluded that social media marketing had a positive effect on brand loyalty and E-WOM, there was no positive effect on purchase intention and brand loyalty had a positive effect on purchase intention but E-WOM had no positive effect. According to the findings,...

Una delle caratteristiche che contraddistinguono lo scenario del social web è la centralità delle interazioni, la proliferazione delle conversazioni relative a un numero illimitato di topic, alimentate dalle logiche di funzionamento dei social network (si pensi al meccanismo delle notifiche sui mobile devices e alla condizione “always on” degli utenti).
Nel web dei big data, da tempo, si va affermando l'idea che “i mercati sono conversazioni”, e che la capacità di individuare, monitorare e analizzare in modo mirato i messaggi può riservare spazi di pianificazione di azioni strategiche che possono provocare un impatto significativo sulla sfera economica, politica, sociale in senso lato.
Sul versante delle metodologie di reperimento e analisi dei dati è innegabile che allo stato attuale prevalgano strumenti quantitativi basati su algoritmi di ultima generazione, senz'altro utili ma non sufficienti a rendere conto in modo esaustivo e incontrovertibile della complessità dei processi della significazione in gioco nell'innesco e nella propagazione dei contenuti (“electronic word of mouth”) descritti tramite l'uso di una metafora tanto comune quanto problematica: il “virus” (Berger 2014).
Un segnale eclatante dello sbilanciamento in senso quantitativo delle metologie di analisi è rappresentato dalla popolarità crescente di servizi come Klout, PeerIndex, Kred che offrono all'utente dei tool per la misurazione della cosiddetta “web reputation” basati su metriche che tengono conto del numero dei like, delle condivisioni dei messaggi, dei follower e del numero e dell'intensità d'uso delle principali piattaforme social. La diffusione crescente di servizi di social networking che offrono all'utente un set di analisi statistiche personalizzate si accompagna, emblematicamente, alla tendenza che consiste nell'assegnare un punteggio numerico (es. Klout score) al profilo del soggetto esaminato, un numero descritto semplicisticamente come una misura della sua reputazione online e del potenziale di influenza in grado di esercitare nei confronti di una rete sociale (engagement).

A partire da una rapida ricognizione sui principali strumenti di analisi quantitativa delle conversazioni, il contributo mira ad analizzare su un doppio versante, teorico e metodologico, gli spazi disponibili (e ancora in larga parte poco praticati) per un approccio di tipo semiotico all'analisi delle conversazioni online che, pur riconoscendo l'utilità delle metriche attualmente in uso, consenta di raffinare l'indagine sul senso dei dati in una prospettiva qualitativa.
In particolare verrà approfondito il contributo della semiotica alle metodologie di analisi attuali, compresa quella netnografica (Kozinets 2010) con particolare riferimento alle fasi di:

individuazione preliminare del campo semantico di analisi
innesco e propagazione del passaparola on line (hashtag e co-hashtag analisi)
categorizzazione delle forme testuali condivise, prodotte, manipolate dagli utenti (foto, video...)
strategie enunciazionali e costruzione dell'identità degli user
pratiche di engagement
individuazione di isotopie, ordinamento dei dati, data visualization

L'ipotesi di fondo è che la semiotica possa giocare un ruolo di grande rilevanza sul versante delle metodologie di indagine che mirano a ricostruire la circolazione e il senso delle conversazioni nelle reti sociali, in particolare indagando sul versante teorico il ruolo centrale svolto dai processi dell'enunciazione nelle pratiche discorsive e nei regimi dell'interazione nel social web tramite i quali gli user si dotano di un'identità (profilo).
In questo senso i principali social network verranno intesi non come semplici ambienti conversazionali ma come sistemi strutturati in funzione di un set di regole d'uso che regolamentano e sollecitano negli utenti peculiari forme di interazione e di auto rappresentazione. Alcuni aspetti caratterizzanti in questo senso sono lo spazio sempre maggiore assegnato alle immagini nella costruzione dell'header di Twitter (spazio tramite il quale l'utente si dota di un'identità visiva) e l'evoluzione degli hashtag da segni funzionali a garantire il reperimento e il raggruppamento delle conversazioni a parole chiave ironiche, paradossali, sarcastiche sempre più spesso concepite per alimentare il passaparola e segnalare la capacità di un soggetto di innescare/alimentare il passaparola on line.

This study empirically tests and compares the influence of friends' recommendations on social media and anonymous reviews on shopping websites in the context of online purchase intention. For this purpose, we analyse the impacts of these two platforms based on the components of information adoption model (IAM) which are borrowed as information quality, information credibility, information usefulness and information adoption. We conduct a survey and find anonymous reviews as more influential on consumer' online purchase intentions than friends' recommendations on social media. However, as this result was contrary to that expected, we conduct another study through in-depth interviews in order to enlighten our results found in the first study. In Study 2, we find the reasons why consumers prefer anonymous reviews rather than friends' recommendations. Information quantity, information readiness, detailed information and dedicated information are factors which make shopping websites superior than social media in terms of the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Academic and managerial implications are discussed.

Although metaphors derived from the semantic field of epidemiology such as “virality”, “infection”, “contagiousness” are commonly used to describe the massive circulation of content on the social web, their relevance is largely controversial from a theoretical point of view. In this paper we will focus on the contribution that semiotic theory can make to the definition of the so-called “viral” marketing communication campaigns.
In recent years the e-WOM phenomenon has been frequently approached by digital marketing, often by using concepts and terms borrowed from semiotic theories, such as the term storytelling. Starting with a reflection on the role of the narrative dimension in planning and spreading “viral” contents, this paper will deal with another metaphor often used in marketing lexicon: that of the Trojan horse. Our aim is to examine its relevance in this context and to contribute to a better understanding of it.
Is the Trojan horse an unfounded metaphor or a military term useful to illustrate complex operations by means of which the enunciatee is effectively manipulated within the social web?

Hotel booking decisions are increasingly influenced by consumer feedback available on social media sites. Using data submitted by customers on TripAdvisor, this study analyzes the customer satisfaction ratings posted for 2,211 hotels. The study provides four key contributions to our knowledge on this subject. Firstly, a comparative analysis was conducted of customer ratings for hotels located on the Spanish coast and Portugal's southern coast. Secondly, significant differences were found in the number of comments and average online review ratings, which showed a correlation to the tourism destinations' geographical locations. Thirdly, the study found that customers tend to rate their hotel experiences positively. Fourthly, the customers' overall level of satisfaction with a hotel tends to increase proportionately based on the number of customer feedback comments posted for that hotel. Consequently, one of this study's findings is that hotels should encourage their cu...

This article investigates the impact of eWOM on intention to revisit and destination trust, and the moderating role of gender in medical tourism industry. Result from structural equation modeling (n ¼ 240) suggests the following: (1) that eWOM influences intention to revisit and destination trust; (2) that destination trust influences intention to revisit; (3) that the impact of eWOM on intention to revisit is about 1.3 times higher in men; (4) that the impact of eWOM on destination trust is about 1.2 times higher in men; and (5) the impact of destination trust on the intention to revisit is about 2.3 times higher in women. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Abstract
In an era of burgeoning digitization and Internet usage, the ways by which consumers choose to explore, engage with, value, and share music are undergoing rapidly dynamic change, and the music industry endeavors to adapt. Music discovery plays an integral role in the realm of digital music, and this study explores how music consumers discover new music and what music discovery strategies they adopt, in addition to developing an understanding of how digital and Web 2.0 technologies are utilized in these discovery strategies. Six individuals provided data in the form of in- depth interviews, which were followed by second interviews for additional insight. This study posits five main categories of discovery strategies through which individuals find new music: (1) opinion seeking and word of mouth, (2) independent search, (3) algorithms and computer-based recommendations, (4) chance, and (5) amalgamate strategies which integrate multiple strategies. The findings of this study demonstrate the significance of Web 2.0 technologies in the process of music discovery, yet acknowledge the importance of offline sources. Ramifications for the music industry are drawn, encouraging record labels to embrace streaming, and for music services to improve on the overall user experience to entice greater levels of engagement with the music experience and the music discovery process.

Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) communication bears the opinion of customers in getting though with their decision-making process. However, social media has brought a new perspective to EWOM, enabling users to communicate with their existing network on the internet. As of social media, Facebook is the most prominent as it is the most engaging platform compared to the other social media platforms. As it is proven by the descriptive statistical review, Facebook word of mouth is found to be significant in the context of food and beverage. Hence, the current study has opted to find out the impact of EWOM on the Consumer Purchase Intention in the Fast-Food Industry among the Facebook users. Fast food industry being one of the most competitive industries in the world, indicates that even though there is a negative EWOM towards fast food, the industry sales have grown. Therefore, it can be argued that, there isn't any impact on the negative EWOM on the purchase intention of fast food which anyway contradicts to previous scholar's findings pertaining to EWOM. Hence this is a notable research area. The review is based on the theoretical rationale and supportive empirical findings, whilst empirical evidences are presented to support the arguments. The paper concludes with research propositions to examine how EWOM makes an impact on the purchase intention of the consumer in the context of the fast-food industry. As there was not a clear notion on the behavior of the EWOM created in the Facebook environment in shaping the purchase intention, this study would direct the researchers to conduct future studies with clear, theoretical and empirical rationale.

During this new technological era there have been new innovative methods which made their appearance and enabled marketers to have a more direct and intimate contact with customers using techniques beyond personal selling, advertising and sales promotion. These pioneering diodes to target on consumers are the social communities and especially the internet forums which are constituted by consumers and they form brand communities. Online Forums participants are reviewing, commenting and discussing about products and services.

Purpose: This research identifies the critical factors of online service delivery of electronic commerce (e-commerce) websites, including website attractiveness, website functionality, website security and consumer fulfillment during an unprecedented Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach: A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 430 online respondents, who were members in popular social media groups. The survey instrument relied on valid and reliable measures relating to electronic service quality (e-SERVQUAL), to better understand the participants’ satisfaction with shopping websites as well as their loyal behaviors and word-of mouth activities.

Findings: The findings reported that consumers valued the e-commerce websites’ features and their consumer order fulfillment capabilities. These factors increase the consumers’ satisfaction with online shopping experiences, generate repeat business as well as positive reviews in social media.

Originality: This contribution posits that e-commerce websites’ ought to be appealing, functional and offer secure transactions.  More importantly, it suggests that online merchants should consistently deliver a personalized service in all stages of an online purchase, including after the delivery of the ordered products.

Research implications / limitations: This study addresses a knowledge gap in academia. To date, little research has focused on the consumer order fulfillment aspect of e-commerce transactions and on the after-sales services of online businesses.

Word of mouth (WOM) is an extraordinary mechanism with which to spread information and disinformation. There is an interaction between WOM and eWOM, creating different channels for the dissemination of information. However, this information cannot be controlled by marketers; at least this is seldom the case. Positive and negative comments are found in eWOM and they have a powerful influence on credibility, trust and persuasiveness, where influencers play a main role. Brand reputation is shaped by the flow of information and disinformation on the Internet. Social networks are a real tool with which to create and place information. A comment may greatly benefit consumers, preventing uncertainty and boosting sales. eWOM disseminates both information and disinformation, and so internet users and marketers are faced with the problem of how to turn this to their own benefit.

Shifting marketing era from Legacy Marketing to New Wave Marketing affects in the emergence of virtual entrepreneurs.
13th Shoes - new local online based shoes brand - utilizes three well-known social media as promotion media. In early 2012, when 13th Shoes started to use instagram as its promotion media, there’re an increase in sales with higher margin than the previous years. Research objective is examining the influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM) among 13th Shoes Instagram toward Brand Image and Purchase Intention. This research is using Purposive Sampling with 200 samples and Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS. All variables obtained an almost good responds from respondents. The direct effect of EWOM towards Purchase Intention is 15.9% and indirect effect towards Brand Image is 36.1%. The effects of EWOM towards brand image and purchase intention are equally by 60%. 13th Shoes is suggested to keep increased its brand image.

Marketers desire to reach more customers through means of social media, and thus create official accounts on these websites. Instagram, which has become a popular social media website in recent years, allows users to post pictures or short videos through appealing filters; this feature provides opportunity for marketers to promote themselves by creating content. However, not all content generated by marketers achieve a similar response from users: whilst some content achieves a high response from customers and widely spreads through electronic word of mouth (eWOM), others do not. There may be many factors affecting customers' engagements; however, in this study, we focus on sectoral differences. The question is posed: Are sectoral differences one of the reasons behind the different customer engagement ratios of brand posts on Instagram? In order to answer this question, a comparison was conducted across 100 Instagram posts, posted by brands from 8 different sectors. The results show significant differences between sectors; customers' engagement with brands in the beverages sector through liking is almost 2.5 times higher than brands in the apparel-luxury sector. Moreover, customers' engagement with brands in the electronics sector through commenting is almost 8 times higher than brands in the apparel sector.

Marketers desire to utilise electronic word of mouth (eWOM) marketing on social media sites. However, not all online content generated by marketers has the same effect on consumers; some of them are effective while others are not. This paper aims to examine different characteristics of marketer-generated content (MGC) that of which one lead users to eWOM. Twitter was chosen as one of the leading social media sites and a content analysis approach was employed to identify the common characteristics of retweeted and favourited tweets. 2,780 tweets from six companies (Booking, Hostelworld, Hotels, Lastminute, Laterooms and Priceline) operating in the tourism sector are analysed. Results indicate that the posts which contain pictures, hyperlinks, product or service information, direct answers to customers and brand centrality are more likely to be retweeted and favourited by users. The findings present the main eWOM drivers for MGC in social media.

Samsung Electronics entered the mobile device market on the back of their successes in other
markets for electronic devices. The mobile device space in South Africa was dominated by
Nokia and Blackberry and in a short space of time Samsung stormed into a tie for the top spot
alongside Blackberry with a market share of 23%. In 2013 Samsung’s market share dropped 5%,
moving down to 18%, placing them second to Blackberry as they entered 2014. Samsung’s IMC
strategy for their mobile devices has been consistent and well-thought throughout the years.
The influence of WOM suggests a greater need for Samsung to determine the effectiveness of
WOM as part of their IMC strategy for mobile devices in South Africa. It is important for
Samsung to understand how WOM shapes South African consumer purchasing decisions, what
causes WOM, and what types of marketing are available to drive WOM for their mobile devices
in South Africa. This study therefore attempts to investigate WOM as advertising tool in an IMC
campaign, with a focus on Samsung and the South African market for mobile devices.
The research indicates that 94% of South African consumers trust WOM from family and friends
more than any other form of advertising. This statistic clearly indicates that South African
consumers trust WOM from family and friends more than any other form of advertising. It can
be deduced that if 87% of consumers actively seek WOM when purchasing a mobile device, and
94% of consumers trust WOM, then WOM is indeed powerful. In conclusion, it is clear that for
Samsung, WOM is effective as part of an IMC strategy for its mobile devices in South Africa.

In this study, we aim to identify the impact of interactivity of electronic word of mouth (EWOM) systems on customer e-loyalty based on Interactivity Theory. In electronic market place, consumers now interact with e-retailers and other consumers with the help of EWOM systems. We have also tried to identify the impact of website quality on customer e-loyalty. An empirical data of 400 respondents is collected through questionnaires in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to analyze the key relationships. Findings show that interactivity of EWOM systems has a positive influence on customer e-loyalty. If this interaction is properly managed, it can increase the customer e-loyalty. Findings also show that website quality has a positive influence on customer e-loyalty. In the context of electronic commerce, EWOM systems are of uprising concern. These findings could be of help to the electronic commerce companies in raising their customers' e-loyalty by appropriately managing their EWOM systems. Keywords: electronic word of mouth (EWOM), decision support, e-loyalty, interactivity of EWOM systems, website quality.

This study, with regard to new ways of marketing in today's digital world, has tried to analyze and evaluate the impact of marketing through social network sites as the most effective electronic word-of-mouth marketing strategy on tendency toward luxury brand or in other words, on purchase intent trigger toward this type of brand. It also outlines that "communication" policy plays a significant role on establishment of strong relationship with customers among luxury marketing mix strategies. The research has been done among users of social network sites that live in the north of Tehran (district nos. 1, 2 and 3). They are considered as social classes A and B, and there is high demand of purchasing luxury brands among them. The impact of structural factors of these sites, as well as demographic factors, with regard to the dimensions that reinforce the concept of "luxury" was studied on the tendency of people toward luxury brands. This study is considered as applied research, and the data collection method is survey-descriptive. The validity of the questionnaire was investigated by exploratory factor analysis through performing principal component analysis. Then the data analysis was conducted by structural equations modeling technique and also Spearman correlation test. At last, most of the hypotheses were confirmed and the results showed a significant impact of social network sites marketing on tendency to luxury brand. The research offers implications for developing effective marketing strategy through social network sites and helps luxury brand managers to build strong customer-brand relationship.

Düşük maliyetli havayolu taşıyıcılarını konu alan bu araştırmanın öncelikli amacı, maliyet liderliği stratejisiyle hizmet veren bu taşıyıcıların kullanıcılarının sosyal medya üzerinden etkileşim kurma nedenlerini ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaca ulaşmak üzere, düşük maliyetli taşıyıcı olan Pegasus Havayolları örnek olarak seçilmiştir. İlgili havayolunun kullanıcıları tarafından havayoluna 01.10.2016-22.10.2016 tarihleri arasında atılan toplam 2200 tweet tümevarımsal olarak analiz edilmiş ve bu yolla ana temalara ulaşılmıştır. Nitel araştırma deseniyle biçimlendirilmiş bu araştırmada, verilerin toplanması ve analizinde NVivo11 programından yararlanılmıştır. Analiz sonucunda kullanıcıların yoğun olarak, yaşadıkları olumsuz deneyimleri paylaşmak, şikayet etmek veya sorunlarına çözüm aramak amacıyla tweet attıkları tespit edilmiştir. Kullanıcılar, çoğunlukla uçuş tarifesine; yolcu hizmetlerine ve müşteri hizmetlerine yönelik sorunlar nedeniyle etkileşim kurmaktadır. Tarifeyle ilgili en çok gündem yaratan konular; uçuş iptalleri, tarife değişiklikleri ve rötarlardır. Yolcu hizmetleriyle ilgili konular ise bilet ve bagaj işlemleri üzerinde yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bilet iadeleri veya değişiklikleri konusunda yaşanan aksaklıklar; bagaj işlemlerine yönelik kayıp veya hasarlı bagajlar yolcuların twitter üzerinden etkileşim kurmalarına neden olmaktadır. Müşteri hizmetlerine yönelik tepkiler ise müşteri hizmetlerine kolaylıkla ulaşılamaması ve müşteri hizmetlerinin ücretli olmasından kaynaklanmaktadır. Araştırmadaki önemli bulgulardan biri de kullanıcıların diğer kullanıcıların kararını etkileyeme yönelik, elektronik ağızdan ağıza iletişime konu olabilecek paylaşımlarıdır. Buna göre kullanıcılar kötüleme, övme, kıyaslama ve kampanyaları duyurmaya yönelik amaçlarla sosyal medya üzerinden etkileşimde bulunmaktadır.

**************This research, which focuses on low-cost carriers, aims to reveal the reasons why users of these carriers that serve with the cost leadership strategy are interacting via social media. To achieve this goal, Pegasus Airlines, a low-cost carrier, was chosen as an example. A total of 2200 tweets taken between 01.10.2016 and 22.10.2016 by the users of the concerned airline were analyzed in terms of inductive and reached the main themes in this way. In this research formulated by the qualitative research design, the NVivo11 program was utilized in the collection and analysis of data. As a result of the analysis, users were found to share their negative experiences, to complain or to find solutions to their problems. The users are mostly on the flight schedule; passenger services and customer service issues. The topics that create the most agenda about the recipe are; flight cancellations, tariff changes and delays. The issues related to passenger services focus on ticket and baggage operations. Flaws in ticket refunds or changes; Lost or damaged baggage for baggage handling causes the passengers to interact via twitter. The response to customer service is due to the inability to access the customer service easily and the customer service fee. One of the key findings in the research is the sharing of electronic communication, which is the subject of electronic communication, to influence users' decisions of other users. Accordingly, users interact through social media for purposes such as defamation, praise, benchmarking and campaign announcements.

This study addresses gaps in our understanding of viral advertising by examining the following questions: (1) how do brand relationships, interpersonal relationships, and user comment valence influence decisions to accept referrals of and re-share online video ads, and (2) how do the roles of each intertwine to influence those decisions. A national sample (N = 405) of 18- to 34-year-old Facebook users participated in a 2 (stronger/weaker brand relationship strength) × 2 (stronger/weaker interpersonal relationship strength) × 2 (positive/negative user comments) experiment. The results show that interpersonal relationships, brand relationships, and valence of user comments play different, but intertwining roles in social networking site users' acceptance of viral video ads and decisions to re-share. Interpersonal relationships most strongly influenced ad referral acceptance while brand relationships and comment valence drove re-sharing. A three-way interaction, however, revealed that positive user comments greatly strengthen the brand's impact on referral acceptance; negative comments strongly negate brand influence.
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